


Worlds Apart

by faithinthepoor



Series: Red Queen - OUaT [3]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-11
Updated: 2015-10-11
Packaged: 2018-04-25 20:26:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 22,692
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4975366
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/faithinthepoor/pseuds/faithinthepoor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Written for Red Queen Week and follows <a href="http://archiveofourown.org/works/2521427">World of Difference</a>  and <a href="http://archiveofourown.org/works/3357920">World Collide</a></p>
            </blockquote>





	Worlds Apart

**Author's Note:**

> I think this applies to a prompt from Red Queen Week 2014 (rather than 2015) and in things that stress me, it violates canon. 
> 
> It also probably needs to be proofread better than it is but Red Queen Week ends today and I wanted to get this posted before it ends

Soft fingers trace over the wound on her hand, mapping the contours as though acknowledging the mark will take away its power. Everything about her predicament is mortifying – from her inability to muster her magic and deal with the threat facing her to the fact that she is seated on the cold concrete floor of a cell in a town that, by rights, she should rule. Her lack of power and pending demise have not been enough for the Charmings to decide to free her. It seems that it’s not her predicament but rather the opinion of the Charmings trusted group of advisors that will determine whether she will be released. She’s been informed, as though the actions of imbeciles somehow might be of interest to her, that a meeting is currently being held on this very topic.

The charmless due have left their daughter in charge of the station and the sheriff is not doing her job with the level of commitment that her parents anticipated. She suspects that the sheriff was ordered to keep a close eye on her but Emma can barely look in her direction and when she does she seems completely uncomfortable and quickly looks away. Emma must time one of her sporadic observations of her prisoner with the moment that Red brings their joined hands up to her lips and places a kiss on the wraith’s brand because the blonde clears her throat and says, “Would you two like some privacy?”

“That is entirely up to you, dear,” she desperately wants to be alone with the girl but her life is ticking away and she will not end it beholden to anyone, especially not to the Charmings’ offspring. 

“It just seems like you would like to be alone.”

“You managed to work that out all by yourself did you?” Her sarcasm earns her a swat on the arm from Red. 

Emma swivels in her chair, “I can go outside from a while. I’d let Ruby into the cell but that would be too hard to explain should anyone comes back and I, well I, I know that may not be an obstacle….” She trails off lamely and slips out of the room. 

It appears that news of their relationship, and a few extra details, has spread like wildfire. Snow has been dropping secrets from her lips, showing that she has never learnt from her past mistakes. Regina is beyond angry but at least Snow’s indiscretion has given them a temporary reprieve from the not so watchful eye of the Sheriff Swan. 

She runs a hand through the girl’s hair, “This is not how I wanted things to go.”

“You didn’t want some soul sucking demon to mark you for death? I’m shocked.”

The girl’s statement is completely inappropriate and exactly what Regina needed to hear, “I guess it is a little surprising,” she plays along.

“I mean I would have thought it was right up your alley.”

“Well my love you do know me better than anyone else,” Regina thought she’d been continuing with the game but Red stills at her words.

“I like to think so,” the girl says softly.

“Hey,” she cups Red’s face and runs her thumb across her cheekbone, “let’s not do this.”

“Let’s not do what? Let’s not be upset that this thing is coming for you?”

“If it is we can’t stop it and don’t want to focus on that I want to focus on you.” Regina moves her hand down and rubs her thumbs over Red’s lips.

The girl’s pupils dilate but she shakes her head and narrows her eyes, “You don’t get to change the topic like that.”

“I thought I was making the best of a bad situation,” Regina rests her head against the bars of her cell and ties to capture the girl’s lips. 

Red pulls away, “This is not a bad situation Regina. This is fucking and life and death. Your life.”

“I know that but there’s nothing we can do.”

“I don’t accept that. I won’t accept that.”

“Sometimes there are things that are beyond our control.”

Red shoves her in exasperation, “Why would you choose now, of all times, to believe that you have limitations?” she splutters. 

“You make me sound like a megalomaniac.”

“It happens to be one of your more endearing qualities,” Red takes Regina’s hand again, “and one that I’d like you to use right now.”

“Okay,” she agrees but apparently she isn’t convincing because her attempt to lean in for a kiss is once again rebuffed. 

“Okay? No, not okay, say it like you mean it.”

“What do you want me to say?” She’s glad they are alone because it would not do wonders for her reputation to know that the girl can bend her to her will.

“I want you to promise me that you are not going to give up. Promise me that you are going to fight this.”

“I promise,” she declares and with that Red finally allows Regina to kiss her.

“Good, because I’m done talking,” the girl wraps an arm around Regina’s waist, “we need to make the most of our time before the Emma returns.” Reinga couldn’t agree more and she snakes an arm around the bars to place her hand at the back of the girl’s head and kisses her deeply.

. . . . . . . .

It was becoming increasingly clear that the others didn’t have ensuring that Regina was fed anywhere on their list of priorities and so Red had embarked on a quick and stealthy mission to obtain provisions. Regina had told that food was unnecessary but had allowed Red to go, giving her blessing and a throaty laugh, when Red’s stomach had loudly declared its objection to the idea of enforced starvation. It had been a noble plan but not a well thought out one as the stealth part of her mission fails the second she opens the door to the diner and sets of the bell. She obviously had not been thinking clearly because the bell was an avoidable obstacle. Red had decided against using the back entrance, believing that the owner of the establishment was less likely to be out at the counter at this time of day, but in doing so she has managed to draw attention to herself.

She hurries to the counter, lifting covers and removing pastries with abandon. Red had envisioned securing more substantial fare but the traitorous bell has changed her objective. There is no time for anything other than a fast and dirty approach now. When her basket is laden with baked goods she makes a mad dash back to the door. She reaches her goal but the bell betrays her once again and this time she is not so lucky.

“Ruby Lucas!” Granny’s words stop her in tracks as surely as any wall would have. “Get over here right now.” Her feet move of their own accord and she finds herself cowering in front of her grandmother like she is some sort of naughty child. “Well? What do you have to say for yourself?”

She holds up the basket, “I’m taking this to the sheriff’s station. There is shockingly little food there.” Her stomach rumbles again and to her great surprise Granny laughs at her.

“I take it that at least some of this food is for you?”

Red cautiously raises her head but has trouble meeting her grandmother’s eyes. “Probably most of it,” she confesses, “I suspect that Emma and I are the only ones interested in food.”

“In that case I think we can do a little better than stale pastries.”

Red blinks in shock at the reference to potentially inferior products but Granny doesn’t seem remotely ashamed, “Child I’m running a business here not a charity.”

Granny orders Red to get some fruit and salad from the cooler and when she returns she finds that the older woman is busily preparing sandwiches. “You don’t need to do this.”

“I won’t have my granddaughter and the saviour wasting away.”

The pointed omission of Regina doesn’t escape her attention. The snub smarts a little but Granny is preparing food for way more than two people and Red can‘t help but grin at the evidence of the large heart behind all the bluster. “I’ll make sure that no one wastes away.” Granny grunts and Red decides to take that as a seal of approval.

The food is packed into takeaway containers and then into Red’s basket. She takes her leave and notices that her heartrate rises in panic when she triggers the bell. Granny laughs at her once again but her voice is serious when she says, “Oh Ruby, don’t think that we are done here. The war council has decided that we are going to try to help save her but that doesn’t mean that anything is forgiven. When this business with the wraith is over you and I are going to have a very long talk about your appalling life choices.”

She manages a hesitant, “Okay,” and then rushes away wondering if there is a way to ensure that the wraith takes her as well as Regina because she would rather die than have that particular conversation with her grandmother. 

. . . . . . . .

So it seems that the council of grasshoppers, garden gnomes and pretend princes has magnanimously decided that she will be allowed to live. The decision that they have reached is something that is not technically in their power to grant but when have they ever let a little thing like reality get in the way? They have generously freed her for the purposes of attempting to allow her to save herself but her liberty beyond that point is still very much in question. 

As the others make their battle plans she clutches the hat to her chest and knows that she will be the only one to bring anything of any particular worth to this war. The others have no purpose but she will let them wave their toy weapons if that’s what they want. It’s not her time, or her life, that she will be wasting. She flirts with the fantasy of one of them falling during the skirmish and that thought is definitely a pleasurable one. It would almost be worth dying if she was able to take one of them out at the same time. 

Her beautiful dreams of revenge are dashed when the girl enters the room. She has been waiting. Waiting for the girl. Waiting for the wraith. One of those arrivals is more welcome than the other but sometimes it’s hard for her to know which is which. “What are you doing here?”

“Nice to see you too,” Red responds as she moves to stand beside her.

“You cannot be here.”

“I’m not leaving,” the girl’s tone brokers no argument.

“I need you with Henry. I need you safe.”

“And I need to be here.”

“Please,” she drops her voice and hopes that the others are unable to see the evidence of her vulnerability.

Red turns so that she is facing Regina and runs her hands down Regina’s arms, “We are in this together. We will face this together.”

“I couldn’t handle it if you were hurt.”

“And I can’t handle the thought of losing you and not doing anything to try and stop that.”

“You think I’m doomed?” she asks wryly, more amused than she should be given the circumstances.

“Yes and I’m here to assuage my guilt,” Red offers her a cheeky grin and the impossible happens, her love for the girl increases.

“Well so long as we both understand what is happening here.”

“Yep. Nothing good. Nothing but death.”

“I do want you here,” she reluctantly admits.

“I know.”

“But it’s wrong to want that. I don’t want you hurt.”

“I know that too,” Red learns down and places her forehead against Regina’s, “but I’m the one who should be here, not them.”

“Oh, I don’t care if they are here or not. Although I am sort of hoping that one of them might get maimed. Maybe I’ll luck out and they might lose a limb.”

Red must roll her eyes because she can feel the movement of the muscles in the girl’s forehead. “I’m scared too,” she whispers.

Regina raises her arms and places them around Red’s neck, “I’m terrified that I’m not going to get a chance to make up for my past mistakes. I want to make that up to you.”

“There is nothing you need to make up for,” the girl insists, “not unless you go dying on me.”

“Did you know that Henry doesn’t want me to die?” she asks, unable to keep the wonder out of her voice.

“He’s not the only one.”

“I thought you said my death was inevitable.”

“And I thought you’d understand that I am relying on you to look the inevitable in the face and say fuck off.”

“You think that will actually work?”

“Of course it will. You’re Regina Fucking Mills,” Red says as though that is the answer to everything. She chuckles despite the gravity of the situation and she kisses the girl despite the presence of onlookers. Like the inevitable, the others are irrelevant; all that matters is the girl and this moment. 

. . . . . . . .

The screaming is taking over Main Street. The eerie sound moves closer and closer. Everyone else is preparing for battle but she has not yet picked up her weapon. She feels small and useless. If the attack had come at night there’s a chance she would have had something to bring to this little sham of a party, a chance that she could have been an asset, but the sun is shining and the wolf is beyond her reach. Red clutches Regina’s hand, the one that is not holding the ridiculous top hat, and is ashamed to note that Regina appears to be attempting to comfort her by running a thumb across Red’s knuckles.

She should be the one providing support, she should be the one ready to fight. She should be a lot of things but instead she stands there in terror. Snow has turned into a pyromaniac, Charming is brandishing a sword, and Emma is doing whatever it is that saviours do but Red is just standing there. If there has been a time in her life when she has been more useless it has completely escaped her memory. 

The wails are now dangerously close and Regina gives her a look of apology as she drops Red’s hand. She gathers a knife, she’s pretty sure that it’s a pointless act as she cannot foresee how this weapon will be of any use in what is to come, and tells herself that at least she is doing something. The only thing left to do now is the only thing she really has to offer; she places herself between Regina and the door so that when the wraith arrives it will have to come through her to get to the woman she loves.

Red’s eyes are focused on the door but she can sense the rising panic behind her. She tries to remain vigilant but Regina’s distress is infective and she abandons her sentry duty to check what is happening at her rear.

Regina is squatting down and throwing the hat over and over again. Sometimes it spins briefly, but never in any sort of magical way. With each failed throw her hopes are dashed over and over again. She goes to reach for Regina but an ear-piercing screech forces her to turn back around. It’s too late. The wraith is here and they are nothing but a matchstick army trying to battle an inferno. 

Snow and Charming move into action but the wraith glides past them as though they are not even there and then it flies over her head. There are now screams everywhere, more screams than just the wraith’s, and it’s possible that some of them are hers. She risks taking her eyes off the creature to look at Regina and finds that Emma has changed her position and is now beside Regina. Emma touches Regina’s arm and something changes in the room. She can suddenly smell earth and rain and she is being whipped by wind. 

A body collides with hers and she falls to the ground. She had been unaware but the hat has started to spin, really spin and Snow has pushed out of the way of the vortex that it is creating. The wind grows stronger still as the vortex claims the wraith, pulling the nightmare being towards oblivion. It shrieks and flails but it cannot stop the pull of the portal and it disappears deeper and deeper into the void. Relief and triumph flood through her body as she looks over at Regina. They smile at one another in victory but their celebration is short lived. The wraith may be beaten but was not done and as it’s parting blow it grabs Snow’s ankle and drags her down. Red doesn’t stop to think. She launches for Snow’s arm. She’s determined to save Snow as Snow saved her moments ago. Her efforts are in vain and the only thing she manages to achieve is to follow Snow to her doom. 

The vortex is a living, breathing scream. The screams are everywhere – hers, Snow’s, the wraith’s but above it all one scream echoes loudly in her head. Regina’s.

. . . . . . . .

In the aftermath of the attack it almost feels like no one knows what to do with her. Or possibly that no one even wants to deal with her. There is no more talk of her returning to the sheriff’s station and she gets the sense that the veiled threats of what will happen if she ventures out of her home are mainly for show. The one thing that seems clear to her is that they want her out of sight and out of mind. 

They leave Town Hall in complete disarray. There is no desire to clean the place up but apparently there is a very strong desire to tidy Regina out of their lives and it’s only her insistence and the threat of the miniature fireball that she manages to conjure that make them agree to allow her to see Henry before she is exiled. Her demands aren’t completely met though because they refuse to take her to Henry, she is escorted back to her residence and advised that Henry will be brought there.

The events of the day threaten to overwhelm her but she holds them at bay with the thought that she will be seeing Henry. He is a tiny but bright light in a world of darkness. She lingers by the window waiting for a sign of him and as a result she is well aware of his arrival but when the doorbell rings she tries to calm herself and to take her time answering. She is still the woman who hurtled herself down her front path in relief when her missing child returned from the fateful trip to Boston and every fibre in her being wants her to run to him but she forces herself into inaction. The frantic mother who ran to him that night was not the mother he wanted and at the moment she really needs to be someone that Henry could want.

She opens the door and he stands there blinding her like the sun. The fact that he doesn’t even seem that pleased to see her does nothing to dull his radiance.

“Henry.”

“Mom.” The title fills her with joy and that joy intensifies when is willing to engage in a hug. 

“It’s good to see you.”

He pulls away from her but eases the blow by saying, “I’m glad you’re okay.” 

“Me too and I’m glad you’re home.” His face clouds over and it’s clear that this was the wrong thing to say.

“This isn’t my home,” he tells her and she wishes she’d let the wraith claim her.

“This will always be your home.”

“My home is with Emma. She’s my mom.” Forget the wraith, she should have followed Red through that portal because there is absolutely nothing for her in this world.

Emma choses that moment to rub salt into her many open wounds and get involved in the conversation. “It’s okay for him to keep staying with us if that’s what he wants.”

It’s okay? It’s not fucking okay at all. Emma has no right to make such offers and this should have nothing at all to do with what Henry wants – he is a child and she is his mother and that should be the end of it. This is his home not some ramshackle excuse for an apartment where he’s going to end up with rickets and scurvy because Emma doesn’t know the first thing about nutrition. All of her points are logical and all of them are right but not a single one of them matter. She could pull rank as his legal guardian and demand that he stay at home but she knows her son, if she does that he will just run away. Her only choice is to agree to this temporary and inferior living arrangement and she does so with the nod of her head.

Henry looks up at her like her can’t believe what has just happened and then Emma has the hide to ask, “Would it be okay if we come in and get some of Henry’s things.”

“Don’t try me Miss Swan.”

“All right, all right, fair enough. I guess Henry and I will be going now.” She’s tempted to change her mind and allow them into her house in an effort to get a little more time with Henry but she’s feels that the one thing that might bring him home is missing creature comforts while he’s in the Charmings’ hovel and she is not going to give away what might well be the only card she has to play.

“Goodbye Henry,” the thought of what she is saying stings like bile in her throat.

“Bye,” he barely even looks at her as he makes his leave.

She attempts to use magic to slam the door behind them but it doesn’t move an inch. Whatever residual magic she had from making the hat spin with Emma is gone and now she truly has nothing. Not her son, not the girl, not her magic. Nothing.

. . . . . . . .

There is a weight pinning her down. The metallic taste in her mouth and the pounding at the back of her head suggest that she has been injured but she has no way of assessing the severity of the damage. She has tried to move her limbs and has only been successful in shifting her right arm. She can’t tell if this is due to injury of her other appendages or if whatever it is that she is lying beneath is making movement impossible but, either way, she is most definitely trapped.

A sense of dread claws at her chest until she remembers the events that led to her being here. She didn’t risk everything launching herself through a portal after Snow just to give up now. Ruby uses her one good arm to explore the territory around her. Dirt falls through her fingers and every now and then sharp objects that she can only assume are rocks dig into her skin. Eventually her questing fingers find something of a different texture. It’s soft in comparison to the dirt and rocks but when she pulls on it it’s firm and strong. Her fingers move along it and she realises that it definitely material of some sort. She pushes her fingers to the edge of their reach and they brush against something solid and substantial and the contact produces a groan from beside her. 

“Snow?” her mouth feels like cottonwool and that one word took more effort to produce than she would ever have thought possible.

The only response she receives is a moan but she decides that she has no choice but to take it a positive sign.

She wants to try to call again but she can’t make her mouth or her voice co-operate. She would be lying in silence but her ears are ringing at a level that is almost intolerable. It crosses her mind that her head injury is likely serious but there is little she can do but lie there and listen to the evidence of the damage to her brain. 

Eventually she is able to distract herself by the arrival of new noises but these are more even worrying than the terrifying ringing. Wherever Snow and her are, because she refuses to believe that it is anyone other than Snow lying beside her, they are not alone.

She’s not processing well but she manages to decipher snippets of a conversation being held somewhere above her. The voices are soft and she thinks they are female but she is far from convinced that they are friendly. She hears mention of a prince and the voices seem to think that they are responsible for something very bad which is a problem given she is in no condition to fight. 

Panic invades her body in response to her defenceless position and she fears she has tried to come to Snow’s aid only to die before she could be of any assistance. She curses her stupidity and the foolishness of her gesture. Snow is her family and she’d do anything for her but what did she really think she could do to help when she followed Snow into the portal? 

Ruby had been too busy berating herself to continue listening to her would be attackers but the mention of the wraith draws her attention. She focuses as best she can and learns that the wraith has come through the portal with them. The knowledge alleviates her distress. She doesn’t want to die but if she does at least she dies knowing that Regina is safe and for Ruby that is the only thing that matters.

. . . . . . . .

She may no longer be in a cell but she is essentially in a prison on her own making. The oppressive walls that surround her are built from loneliness and isolation and they are harder to escape from than the bars in the sheriff’s station could ever dream of being. On the plus side this is not a jail that she ever plans on trying to break free from. With Red and Henry both lost to her there is nothing in the outside world that holds her interest.

At least the bed in this prison is comfortable, a fact that is a blessing given she doesn’t plan on leaving it very often. She’s not happy, she’ll probably never be happy again, but at she’s accepting of her position and there are worse places she could be than cocooned within her own bed.

The relative peace of her confinement is interrupted by the distinct sound of movement in the house. There is no one who would want to visit her, no one who could possibly be here with anything other than malicious intent. _This is it_ , she thinks to herself as sound moves closer. She has survived the wraith, and all that came before it, only to be murdered in bed by one of the townsfolk.

Her own personal grim reaper rips the covers off her bed and worse than that has had the temerity to open the curtains before divesting her of her protective bedding. She scrunches her eyes tightly shut to protect against the painful light and lets out a string of curses under her breath as she tries to adjust to her new circumstances. 

“We don’t have time for you to be wallowing,” an unimpressed and disembodied voice tells her.

“I’m not going to give you pleasure of opening my eyes, I don’t plan on watching my demise, so just get on with killing me.”

“I’m not here to kill you, so you can stop this ridiculous pity party of yours and we can get down to business.”

She manages to open her eyes slightly and they water in process. Her vision is not completely clear but Granny is definitely standing over her and for person who is insisting that she isn’t there to kill her, the crossbow that she is brandishing is certainly an interesting choice. “I could have been naked,” it’s something she would have normally said with fire, the kind of fire that would have burnt the skin off the recipient of her verbal assault, but she is far from her usual self and her complaint is delivered as a high pitched whine.

The intruder shrugs, “So what if you were? It wouldn’t have bothered me. Interest in your body is not a trait that Ruby inherited from me.”

“So I take it you know about Red and I then?” she says with a small fraction of glibness. 

“Snow informed me of the lamentable situation.”

“Of course she did.”

“I didn’t come to talk about that. I’d be happy if we never talked about that.”

“So you’re not here to kill me and you’re not here to discuss the nature of my relationship with Red. What are you are here for?”

“I need your help. I wouldn’t be here if I had any other choice.”

“And you couldn’t just call me? Did you fail to learn how to use a phone in the last twenty-eight years or was it just more fun to break into my house?”

“I’ve called you several times but you were too busy acting like you were the only person to have ever known suffering to bother to answer.”

“That didn’t mean that you had to come invited to my bedroom.”

“You’ve wasted too much time already, I wasn’t about to fiddle-faddle around.”

“There are such concepts as privacy and decency,” Regina grumbles. 

“You want to talk to me of decency?” Granny’s eyes narrow and her fingers twitch as though she is dying to make use of the crossbow she is still directing at Regina.

“I can only imagine how Snow has painted things and I’m not going to pretend that I’m perfect but I can assure you that I never once took advantage of Red or treated her with anything but respect.”

“That’s horsecrap and you know it.”

“It’s the truth. I loved her.” She shakes her head and clarifies, “I _love_ her.”

“If that was true and you had even have a fraction of decency left in you, you wouldn’t be lying here.”

“What am I meant to do?” she asks and has to admit that she’s annoyed by how pathetic she sounds.”

“Get off your ass and do something.”

“There’s nothing I can do. I have no power here and the town are out for my blood.”

“Since when do you let little things like stand in your way?” The eyes that glare at Regina over the top of Granny’s glasses issue a challenge. 

“If there was anything at all that I could do don’t you think I’d be doing it by now?”

Granny looks at her as though she is an insect and not a former queen who once ruled with an iron fist holding a deadly fireball, “I really don’t know. From where I’m standing it would seems that your head is too far up you own ass to think about anything other than yourself.”

“I’ve lost everyone I care about,” she spits at the woman.

“You’re not the only one who is hurting but no one is lost. Not unless we let them be.”

“There’s nothing we can done. We can’t even get to her.”

“I can’t but _you_ can.”

“You know that I don’t have power, there’s nothing I can do.”

“For all your faults, I never once thought what I have to accuse you of thinking small,” Granny shakes her head in disgust before pulling an object out of her bag and throwing it at Regina.

The projectile hits Regina in the stomach, knocking the wind out of her. She glares at Granny and in response and she notices Granny lips twitch up into a small smile. Regina does her best to ignore the woman and instead turns her attention to the object that is now sitting in her lap. An involuntary gasp escapes her lips as she registers the book in front of her. “How?” she ineloquently asks.

“My granddaughter needed me so I did what needed to be done.” The unspoken _unlike you_ hangs in the air mocking Regina.

“You went to Gold.”

“You didn’t give me much choice.”

“What did he ask in return?”

“He wasn’t clear.”

“But you owe him.”

“It would seem.”

“You shouldn’t have done that. The imp can’t be trusted.”

“I told you,” Granny says through gritted teeth, “I did what needed to be done. Now get your act together, get your ass out of bed and get my granddaughter back.”

“I have to say that this isn’t what I expected,” she opens the book and runs her fingers over the text, “I honestly thought you’d be leading the lynch mob coming for me.” Regina’s eyes nervously flick to the crossbow that the woman is now holding by her side.

Granny follows her gaze and runs a hand tenderly over the weapon. “When she’s safely home I plan to put a bolt clear through your heart for having ever laid a finger on her but right now my granddaughter needs you so you get to live.”

“I understand,” the words aren’t exactly powerful but here is more steal in her voice than was present before. 

The older woman nods in approval and, apparently certain that her work here is done, she exits without another word. Although, when she steps through the bedroom door, she does go to the effort of tapping the crossbow against the frame as a reminder to Regina that she most definitely means business. 

. . . . . . . .

The sun beats down on them and the ropes around her wrists bite into her skin. Her lips are cracked and her mouth feels like sandpaper but her requests for water have gone unanswered. The horse jolts forward, wrenching her arms from their sockets and she is worried that they will never work properly again. She looks over to Snow and is sure that grimace on the woman’s face matches the one on her own.

“Where do you think they are taking us?” Snow asks.

“Does it matter?” comes her defeated response.

“No, I guess not,” Snow says as she stumbles forward and they lapse into silence once again. There is nothing for them to talk about. The shame of their predicament sits heavy in her chest. She’s been sleeping for decades and now, within minutes of waking, she is captured and powerless to do anything about it. The end of the curse has been completely squandered and it leaves her seething. 

She trips over a rock and cries out in pain as her knee crashes into the ground. She falls forward and is dragged along the ground, her shirt rises and the sharp stones that populated the dry earth cut into the skin of her stomach and back as she is twisted from side to side, pivoting at the point of her bonds. Her feet scramble, trying to find purchase, but she is repeatedly thrown back to the ground. Eventually she manages to get herself upright and from that point on she keeps her eyes down, scanning for anything that might cause her to again lose here footing. 

In the harsh heat of the day she has no connection to the moon. She hopes that the full moon is close and she comforts herself with thoughts of being in her element and of gaining the upper hand on their captors. The idea of ripping out their throats is far more palatable than the thought of being a helpless prisoner and she uses it to spur herself forward even though her battered knee is at danger of giving out.

. . . . . . . .

Her hand hovers over the book but she can't bring herself to open it again. She feels it beckoning her, drawing her in, and her stomach clenches at the thought. It's probably just her imagination, given she cannot seem to access her magic, but the tome seems to vibrate beneath her fingers. She can hear it whispering to her, seducing her with promises power, of control, and of glory. There is darkness here. The kind of darkness she has tried to leave behind. 

Using the book to get the girl back seems like a reasonable transaction. Red is worth almost every sacrifice. She would gladly give her life for the girl's, that's not even a question, but she's not thinking about risking her life, she's contemplating risking her soul. 

This may be an act from which there is no going back and, as dire and urgent as the situation is, if that is the case then there is something she must do first. She packs the book into her bag and wonders if this delaying tactic will mean that Granny decides to fire two bolts into her heart instead of one. 

Regina runs her hands over skirt desperate to smooth out even the tiniest crease, heedless of the fact that she is going to need to sit down once she gets into the car. She agonises over her appearance in the mirror. Her makeup is flawless and she can't find a single hair out of place but she still can't shake the feeling that it is not good enough. If she is going to see her son for what is likely the last time then she needs to look perfect. She doesn't feel perfect though, she never has, but time is ebbing away and it's too late to fix the failings of a lifetime. With one final glance in the mirror she makes her decision to leave, grabbing her bag and heading downstairs. The bag is placed in the passenger seat and she starts the car before she has even closed her door. 

The car jerks to life as though it is aware of her intended destination. She places her foot on the accelerator and before she knows it she is turning off Mifflin Street leaving it, and the last twenty-eight years, behind. 

If the journey started quickly it ends even more abruptly. She is fairly certain that even with her magic she could not have gotten here sooner. Her magic would have treated her clothes better though and she furrows her brow as she tries to remove recalcitrant wrinkles from her linen skirt. Her sartorial blunder cannot be corrected and she has no choice but to proceed whilst feeling, for all the world, that she resembles a bag lady.

She had thought knocking on the door would cause her to falter but she manages the task without hesitation or incident. Apparently opening the door to greet her is not so easily accomplished. David stands before her, opening and closing his mouth like some sort of idiotic fish, with nothing but confusion in his dull eyes. When the cogs in his head finally manage to turn he attempts to shut the door in her face but she places a foot in the door jamb to prevent him from completing that action.

Pain shoots through her foot and lances up her leg but she doesn’t look down. She keeps her eyes locked with his as he informs her, “You are not welcome here.”

“Please,” she implores, irate that she has to attempt to appease him, “I need to talk to them.”

“Them?”

“Henry and Emma,” she clarifies and wonders if she will have to spell it out further, because it’s possible that the fool is unable to retain the names of his family members for more than a few seconds at a time.

“They don’t want to see you.”

“That might be so but this is important.”

“Nothing you could possibly have to say is important to any of us.”

“I can see why you’d feel that way but I’d really like them to speak for themselves.”

“That won’t be happening, you are not getting into this house.” He attempts to make his words a reality by pulling the door back and slamming it closed once again.

This time the pain in her foot causes her to cry out and the noise draws attention. Footfalls come pounding down the stairs and she hears Emma ask, “What is going on?”

“Nothing you need to worry about,” David tells her before whispering, “just go!” at Regina.

“It didn’t sound like nothing. It sounded like someone was hurt.”

“It’s fine Emma. You can’t go back upstairs.”

Apparently Emma doesn’t have complete faith in her father, either that or she realises that her father is an imbecile and his judgment can’t be trusted, because she comes to investigate the sound for herself. “Regina,” she exclaims in surprise and Regina watches in delight as David’s shoulders slump when Emma invites her into the house.

“She shouldn’t be there,” he insists.

"I'll do my best not to be here for long," she replies with what she likes to think is trademark snark. If she had the time she'd make sure to inform him just how little interest she has in spending any time at all in this abode. 

"See to it that she doesn't," David says to Emma and then removes himself to the kitchen area as though the Regina might somehow not notice that the complete lack of walls will mean that he is listening in on their discussion. 

Emma directs her to the table and she takes a seat. David, the charmless wonder, might be attempting to be subtle for all she knows but if he is, it would appears that his definition of this consists of standing directly in her eye line while he sips slowly from a glass of water. She ignores him and turns her attention to Emma who sits down beside her. "I assume you're here to see Henry."

Regina bites back the comment that she is dying make about just how little interest she has in any of the inhabitants of this house other than her son and instead nods her agreement. 

Emma averts her eyes and scratches at her arm, "The thing is that that might be a little difficult."

"He doesn't want to see me," Regina provides matter-of-factly.

"Nor should he," David interjects. 

Emma looks over at the idiot who has placed his glass down and given up any pretence of having a valid reason to be in the kitchen, "I think this might be a little easier if it was just Regina and I."

"I'm not leaving you alone with that woman."

"Regina is not the enemy," David looks at his long lost daughter in disbelief while Regina raises an eyebrow in mild amusement. "Well," Emma flaps her hands nervously, "not right now she isn't."

"I can assure you that I have no intention of hurting her." Regina pulls up her sleeves to expose bare arms and then dumps the contents of her bag onto the table. "See, not an apple in sight."

Emma pales a little at Regina's flippant attitude and David looks like he wants to burst into an angry tirade. "I'll be just upstairs. You call me if she tries anything and I do mean anything."

True to his word he does word he does go up the stairs but Regina suspects he is standing right at the top of them ready to spring into unnecessary action. "Any one would think I'm not the elected sheriff of this town," Emma huffs and then turns her attention back to Regina. 

"The reunion is not all hearts and flowers then?"

Emma gives a small shrug and a quick glance to the ceiling, "It's all kind of weird. I mean I barely know him but now he thinks he needs to father me and help me deal with the loss of my mother who is actually my roommate and friend. I’m worried for her and I want to help but I can't feel the way he wants me to feel." She looks at Regina awkwardly, evidently uncomfortable with confessing this much, "But I doubt you came here to talk about me."

"I most certainly did not. I need to talk to Henry and I know he won't want to but this is time sensitive."

"The wraith is gone, Regina."

"I know that. It's not about that, well not precisely. At least not in the way you mean."

"What else could be urgent?"

"There's a chance that I might be able to help get Red and the other one back and I don't think I should be wasting any time."

"You want to talk to Henry because it's dangerous? I don't think you should be doing anything dangerous. I know Henry is mad but he'll come around in time. He can't lose you." 

The response puts Regina off guard. Emma is a most unlikely of allies. "I want to talk to him because it would involve me using magic."

"I see," Emma now seems a lot more wary. "In what way?"

"Granny came to see me. She bartered with Gold to get me that," she gestures at the book lying amongst her belongings on the table, "I should be able to use it to regain control of my magic."

"So why haven't you done that yet."

"Because I haven't spoken to Henry."

"Regina, you don't need his approval."

"It's not approval that I'm looking for."

"You want him to understand."

It's not understanding that she's looking for either, it's forgiveness, but the child of the Charmings doesn't need to know that, "Something like that."

Emma stands up, pushing her chair away from the table as she does, scraping it along the floor, "I'll try and get him to come down."

Before the sheriff is able to leave Regina reaches out and grabs her wrist, "Why are you trying to help me?" 

"Because you're trying to do what's right." 

"You'll forgive me for being sceptical but usually you are trying to assault me and calling me a murderer." She feels a phantom pain in her back reminding her of Emma throwing her against the shelves in hospital supply room. That event was fairly recent but it feels like a lifetime ago.

"You did actually try to kill me, Regina."

She doesn't deny the accusation, they both know it's the truth, "So why help me now?"

"You're not trying to kill me today, right?"

"No. Not today."

"Well okay then."

"That's really doesn't make any sense at all."

Regina," Emma is clearly frustrated by the situation, "this doesn't for a second mean that I think you can be trusted."

"Good. I was worried I was losing my edge."

Emma shakes her wrist free of Regina's grasp. "Listen. I realise that it's probably open season when it comes to everyone else but I know you wouldn't hurt Ruby just like I know you wouldn't hurt Henry."

"You’re on the record multiple times claiming I pose a risk to my son."

"He did end up on a coma because of you."

Regina's heart skips a beat at the memory. "That was a terrible accident."

"One that was your fault."

"But never my intention."

"And I'm saying I know that. I know that you want to keep Henry and Ruby safe."

"Not just them," Regina laments. "I don't want her grandmother to suffer consequences because she dealt with the imp."

I didn't realise you cared about her."

"I don't."

A look of understanding comes over Emma's face, "But _she_ does."

“Just because you witnessed something that was none of your business do not begin to think that you know me.”

“But her happiness is important to you?” Emma continues as though Regina had never spoken.

"Yes." She freely admits.

Emma's expression softens and it makes Regina want to punch her in the face. She has no time for this unwanted and unnecessary conversation. The blonde manages to save herself from an assault by promising that she'll try to get Henry to come down. 

She hears David caution Emma when she reaches the top of the stairs but Emma moves past him in search of Henry. Her son and the sheriff engage in a heated debate, especially on Henry's part, but true to her word Emma returns with Regina’s son.

Regina wants to rush to him and take him in her arms but the look on Henry’s face suggests that this would not be wise. He takes a seat across from her, his hands are held firmly in front of him and he looks more distant and more grown up than her baby has ever been. She reaches out and briefly touches his joined hands, “Thank you.”

He looks to Emma and her heart breaks in two, “I hear there is something you need to discuss with me.”

“There is something that I need to tell you,” she corrects. She may want, may even need, his forgiveness but she is still the parent in this relationship.

“What is it?”

“I think I can get Ruby and Snow back.”

“Grandma. Snow is my grandmother.”

She doesn’t rise to the bait, “I think I can get her back.”

“Then what is stopping you?” He’s angry at her for delaying the rescue but she suspects that is about to change.

“It would mean getting my magic back.”

He studies her face intently, she feels like he’s looking right through her, “Do you think that’s a good idea.”

“I don’t know but it’s the only one I’ve got.”

“Okay,” Henry gives her a small nod.

“You’re not mad?”

“I’m worried.”

“Me too.”

“I guess that a good sign,” he gives her a smile of encouragement, “at least this time you’ll be using magic for the right reasons.”

“I don’t know if that means I will handle it any better.”

“But you’re going to try.”

“Yes. Yes I am.” He holds her eyes and it’s the closest she’s felt to him since he was given that accursed storybook.

Emma steps all over their moment, wading in to offer her unsolicited opinion, “Magic doesn’t have to be bad, Henry. I have magic. Magic is how we saved your mom.”

“And lost Grandma and Ruby,” he points out but his eyes widened in fear at the mention of his mother having been in danger.

“No one is more upset about what happened to Ruby than your mother,” Emma inappropriately adds.

Henry cants his head to the side and looks at them both with suspicion. “Why would it matter to her that it was Ruby?”

“It…I…I mean,” Emma fumbles.

“It doesn’t,” Regina interrupts, “no more than anyone else.” A rock forms in her stomach as she lies but she is so not ready to have that conversation with her son. She might never be ready.

Henry’s eyes are still narrowed, “That’s not what she said.”

“I didn’t mean anything by it,” the sheriff is an unconvincing as she is interfering.

“You’ve lied to me my whole life,” he points at Regina in accusation, “and now you’re making her lie too.”

“Henry, it’s not like that,” she’s desperate and he knows it.

He pushes himself up and his face is like thunder. “You’re a liar. A liar. A liar.”

She can’t say anything but she really should have because the next thing she hears is, “Henry she’s not lying she just doesn’t know how to tell you that she’s with Ruby.”

“Miss Swan!” If she hadn’t have waited to talk to Henry before using the book Emma would be dead by now.

“Enough,” Henry yells, “she’s evil and a liar and she’s turning you into a liar.”

He rushes out of the room and Regina follows on his heals mindless to the chair she topples over in her effort to catch her son. David tries to block her when she reaches the landing but he shrinks away when she lets out a menacing snarl. He’s not worth her words but lucky for him he understands her intent because she would have pushed him down the staircase before she let him prevent her from reaching Henry. Once that obstacle is removed she turns her attention to the pursuit of her son and sees him disappear into a room and close the door.

She approaches the door and knocks. To her dismay, but not her surprise, he doesn’t answer. She attempts to turn the handle knowing that it’s a further violation of his trust but she doesn’t have the luxury of finding a more appropriate way to manage the situation right now. The handle doesn’t move. Her son has locked her out of his life. “Henry. There’s no time to make this better, and maybe there never will be, but no matter what you think of me you need to know that you have always been the most important thing in my life. I know I’m not the mother you wanted but I have always loved you and I always will.” 

There is no response so she tries the door handle one more time to see if he has had a change of heart. The door remains locked and it seems that it’s not possible for her to access the room or the boy inside. She keeps her head down as she moves past Charming and tries to cross the lower level without any interaction.

Emma knows better than to approach her but she does offer an, “I’m sorry.”

She lets out a shuddering breath and clenches her teeth together, “Don’t Miss Swan, just don’t.”

“I was only trying to help.”

Regina has zero interest in absolving the Swan woman of her guilt. In fact part of her hopes that she dies on this foolhardy rescue mission so that Emma has to live with the guilt for the rest of her life. “You do not get to talk to me. Not now and not ever. If you really want to help you’ll keep my son safe and you’ll damn well make sure that he knows that I loved him.” 

She storms out of the apartment. It’s not the most regal exit she has ever made but at least she out of the building before the tears start to fall and, all things considered, that feels like a victory.

. . . . . . . .

Their time as captives is a whirlwind of shifting allegiances and is topped off by the introduction of a foe Red never wanted to face. She bristled, the hairs on her arms rising, when Cora introduced herself. She swallowed down all the pain and anger that she feels towards this woman by proxy and tried to be as sickeningly sweet to her as Cora was being to them. Snow regaled her with useless warnings about Cora every time the woman was out of earshot, if that woman was ever in fact out of earshot, and amazingly Red managed to contain her rage. She doesn’t need to be warmed about Cora. She knows exactly who Cora is and exactly what Cora has done. Red has seen the scars that Cora left on Regina’s psyche, she is not about to underestimate this woman or her propensity for evil.

In the end they are released far too easily. Even without Red’s senses it would have seemed suspiciously convenient but she is not suspicious, she’s certain that this is a ruse. As they scarper through some dense woods she tries to explain the situation to Snow but Snow is having none of it. There was endless bitching and moaning from Snow when Red had refused to travel with the others. She was accused of everything from pettiness to stupidity but Red remained firm in her position that that would be moving on alone. 

Snow may have lost that battle but she has been punishing Red with the cold shoulder ever since. Red tells herself that it doesn’t matter, that the only thing that matters is that she came her to stop bad things happening to Snow and that she is going to make sure she does that whether Snow likes it or not. 

Her attempts at offering an explanation are either dismissed or ignored until Snow reaches some type of breaking point. She stops abruptly and snaps at Red, “Why are you being so negative? Why can’t you be happy that we’ve escaped?”

“Because I don’t think we have. I think this all just one big trap.”

“If you think that why would you insist on making sure we have no one to help us?”

“I don’t know who can help else.”

“Mulan and Aurora offered their services.”

“They also bound out hands and dragged us along with no real concern for our safety. Why are you so eager to accept one gesture and ignore the other?”

“Because Lancelot trusts them and I trust him.”

They have reached the part of the conversation that Red had been trying to avoid and she buys herself some time by moving closer to Snow. “That well may be but that wasn’t Lancelot.”

“What are you talking about,” Snow’s eyes are wide in disbelief, “of course it was Lancelot.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because I know him,” the answer is given with finality.

“And you’re absolutely certain that that was him?”

“What are you talking about? Of course it was him.”

“I don’t think that was him,” Snow goes to interrupt her but Red holds up her hand and continues, “let me be clear, I know it wasn’t him.”

“You don’t even know him.”

“No but I know Cora.”

Snow’s stance relaxes and she looks at Red in understanding, “She’s done something to you hasn’t she? She’s confused you in some way. Made you mistrustful.”

Red turns her hands over and holds her palms up as she shrugs her shoulders, “For all I know she could have but that is not why I don’t trust Lancelot.”

“What is your problem with him? He’s trying to help us.”

“I told you. He’s not Lancelot,” she closes her eyes, bracing herself for Snow’s response to her next revelation, “he’s Cora.”

“Don’t be absurd.” 

“I’m not being absurd, I’m being honest.”

“How can you possibly think that?”

“Because of how he smells. He smells like Cora.”

“You want to through away our salvation because he smells of Cora?” Snow is seething with anger.

“He doesn’t smell of her. He smells exactly like her. At least he did, at some point I think she realised what I was and then the scent became clouded.”

“I’m not allowed to trust him but I’m meant to trust in your nose?” Snow’s eyes burn into her own and if she didn’t know better she would think that Snow was about to attack her.

“I’m not making this up,” she offers as a heartfelt but seemingly inadequate apology. 

“If you’re right then we have no one who will help us. No one that we can rely on,” Snow say dejectedly.

“We have each other.” Red had meant that to be a positive thing but Snow looks at her like that is no comfort at all. She got sucked into a portal because she had Snow’s back, she always has, but she is starting to think that the woman she came to save is already gone. The Snow she knew would have taken her at her world but because of Regina – either due to Red’s relationship with her or through the effects of the curse itself – it seems that the Snow she knew might no longer exist. 

. . . . . . . .

There’s nothing stopping her now. The book might be her a downfall but it isn’t really possible for her to fall any further. Still, some part of her clings to what might have been, what could have been, if the alleged saviour had never come into their lives. If she had actually abandoned all hope she would have opened the book in the Charmings’ fleapit and reclaimed her birthright. She would have reminded them of what she is capable of and they would have trembled in fear but even if the situation is completely hopeless she doesn’t want Henry to see her like that. He may have believed that she was the Evil Queen for a long time but he honestly has no idea what that means and if the only legacy that she can give him is that he never has to find out she will protect him for the truth at all costs.

She gets in her car and drives to the only thing that remains hers. The sun is scorching overhead but leaves and the branches protect her from its rays. She leans her back against the trunk of the tree and whispers, “I guess it’s time to go home.” The book is removed from her bag and she holds it to her chest as she takes steadying breathes. This is what needs to happen but that doesn’t make it easier. Everything is about to change. The priorities in her life will be forever altered. 

During her years in Storybrooke she had let go of the girl and life had given her a son in exchange but now she will say goodbye to him to get the girl back. In the ten short but precious years of his life she would never have made this decision. She missed the girl, she loved girl, but her son was everything. Even now, when she knows she has no other choice, it’s hard to let him go. She relaxes her arms and places the book in her lap. Her fingers caresses its cover in a way that is almost sensual and the object seems to respond to her touch. It falls open, in a manner that defies the laws of physics, and presents her with the page she needs.

She closes her eyes and takes one last deep breath. It is the last rights for Regina Mills, mother, and mayor. Mayor Mills is about to die so that the Evil Queen can be respawned. Her eyes snap open before she feels ready and without thinking her fingers are following the writing on the page. She mouths the words beneath her digits but as her fingers start to move faster her chanting begins in earnest. She can feel the energy behind the words. It crackles in the air and her fingers become lighting rods drawing the energy into her. Power runs up her arms and through her chest. She feels light and heavy, hot and cold, ecstasy and despair. She feels everything. She is everything. Her vision is clouded over by a purple mist and when it clears it is all over. She is reborn.  
. . . . . . . .

She returns from patrolling the periphery of the clearing, it’s a pointless exercise given their foe’s magical abilities but it feels better than doing nothing. Red might be frightened that she is fighting a losing battle but she not about to sit around waiting to die. When she returns to their makeshift camp she notices that Snow has gathered a pile of twigs and is attempting to start a fire. “We can’t afford to have a fire, I’m sorry.” Red had delivered the news as politely and diplomatically as possible but it still provokes a pout and a glower from Snow. 

“There is no point in us freezing to death,” Snow huffs. Red swallows the biting comeback where she would point out to Snow that she has basically found nothing but kindling and the so called fire of hers wouldn’t last five minutes. She briefly wonders what happened to her friend who was a bandit and a survivor. The bow slung across the woman’s back is reminiscent of Snow White but a whole of her attitude still screams Mary Margaret Blanchard.

“I don’t want to make it any easier to track us.”

“There’s nothing we can do to stop her. If she wants to find us she will, no matter what we do.”

“I know,” she admits, “but lighting the fire feels like defeat. Like we are saying we are going to die here.”

Snow sighs and falls out of her crouch and into a sitting position, “We are not going to die. We are going to go home.”

“Home?” I would have thought that you’d think of this as your home.”

Snow casts a glance around the clearing, “I do but I have to say that it doesn’t feel all that homely right now”

“No. No I guess not.”

“I plan on dying in my own bed, at a very old age, with family by my side.”

There something maudlin and a little bit creepy about the image Snow’s sentiment invokes but it’s probably better than being skinned alive in these woods. “Is that so?”

“Yes. So you see, we are not going to die because it would be incredibly inconvenient.”

Red laughs at that and it almost feels warm and right. “Well we couldn’t have that.”

Snow looks at her intently, the fear and determination radiating off her in equal measure, “I only just found my child, I can’t lose her.”

She knows the feeling. She thinks about holding Regina in her arms and she knows that she will fight to the death to get back to her. “Then we will have to make sure that you don’t.”

There is a nod of acknowledgement, “So it’s decided. She is not going to beat us.”

The hope that had been blooming dies in Red’s chest, “That might be easier said than done.”

“We have survived worse,” Snow says pointedly.

“It’s not the same.”

“No it’s not because, unlike her daughter, Cora is not hell bent on my destruction.”

And there it is, the anger that Snow has been holding back, Red knew this was coming and in a way she’s surprised it has taken that long. “Regina never really wanted you dead.”

“She told you this and you believed her?” For the first time ever Snow looks at Red as though she is beneath her.

“On the contrary she made endless threats and promises about your death.”

“Then how can you possibly believe that she didn’t want to kill me.”

“Because you are still alive.”

Snow appears to be weighing up the evidence and apparently her deliberation falls down on the side where she rejects Red’s argument, “I’m alive because good will always triumph over evil.”

“You cannot possibly believe that it is that simple.”

“Of course it is. There are heroes and villains for a reason and you’d do well to remember that.”

It’s not as though she’s never had to face just how different her thinking is to Snow’s but it’s the first time that she has ever thought that her view point might be her own and not a by-product of her feelings for the Evil Queen. Even without Regina clouding the issue she knows that she takes offense to the black and white view of mortality that the residents of the Enchanted Forest take as a given. “How do you know you’re a hero?”

Incredulous doesn’t even begin to describe the expression that crosses Snow’s features. She looks at Red likes she’s a stranger. It might have been easier for Snow to deal with Red spurting an extra head than to hear what Snow obviously thinks is heresy. “Because I’m one of the good guys.”

“According to who?”

“To everyone.”

“Not everyone,” Red mutters.

“Not you?” 

The air is thick with tension. Red’s answer has the potential to change everything, “I don’t think things are that clear cut,” she says and then holds her breath as she waits for the world to come crashing down.

“Because of _her_?” There is no denying the anger and the disappointment in Snow’s question.

“Because of _me_.”

Snow looks at her sadly, “Choosing Regina might mean you have placed yourself on the side of evil but you don’t have to stay there, it’s not too late for you.”

Red lets out a bark of a laugh, “I’m not looking to be absolved.”

“You jumped into the portal after me.”

“That wasn’t because of guilt if that’s what you’re thinking.

“You may not think so but she has been dragging you down. You were a hero once and I think you came after me because you want to be one again.”

“I was never a hero.”

“Of course you were,” Snow holds her hands out imploringly, “and you could still be one.”

“So it’s as simple as a choice?”

“For you? Yes.”

“But not for everyone?” They both know what she really means is not for Regina.

“You once fought of the side of good,” Snow points out.

“And before that I was an uncontrollable mass murderer.”

“That was the wolf, not you.”

“The wolf is me.” Snow was that first person who had made her feel truly accepted. Snow had made her believe that all of her, both human and wolf, was welcome in her life but she is starting think that Snow’s acceptance wasn’t so unconditional after all.

“I know that. The wolf fought alongside us too.”

“But before that, before I had control, was the wolf at all a hero? Was I?”

“Oh Red,” tears glisten in Snow’s eyes.

“Whether I’m a hero or a villain has nothing to do with Regina and it has nothing to do with you. It all depends or your perspective on what I did before I knew what I was. Before I knew who I was.”

“Red, you’re not a villain, you didn’t even know what you were doing.”

“Doesn’t it depend on how you chose to look at my story or at least what point of my story you look at? If you read Henry’s book and my tale ended with the death of Peter, how would you see me?”

“But that’s not the end of your story.”

“That doesn’t matter. We judge people all the time regardless of what point their story is up to.”

“So what are you saying? You think we should wait until the end to decide if someone is good or evil?”

“I’m saying that I’m not sure it’s as simple as heroes or villains. I’ve done good things but that doesn’t make me a hero and I’ve done bad things and I hope that doesn’t make me a villain.”

“But given a choice what would you want to be?” 

It’s clear that the fairy tale version of right and wrong drives Snow’s question and because of that she will probably never understand Red’s answer, “I would want to be me.”

“And who is that?”

Red’s shoulders slump and she moves to claim a spot next to Snow on the ground, “That’s something I’m still trying to figure out.”

“Can I ask you something?”

“Of course.”

“That night that you had me chain you up was that because of her?”

That night seems like it belongs to a different story, to a different life, “Yes.”

“You wanted to stop yourself going to her?”

“Yes.”

“Then how can you defend her, how can you want to be with her?”

“I always wanted to be with her, I just wasn’t ready to accept it that night.”

“Why did you never tell me?”

“How could I? She was your enemy.”

“You didn’t think I’d understand?”

“I didn’t understand. My betrayal ran so much deeper than not telling you and it never sat well with me. People were suffering, people were dying, and I did nothing. I watched friends get wounded and, instead of being the kind of hero you would have wanted me to be, I let that happen.”

“It’s not your fault people were hurt.”

“But I could have killed her and I didn’t.”

“I’m not saying that you don’t have things that you should feel guilty about but she is powerful sorceress and there is no way that you could have killed her.”

“I found her wounded and weak and my wolf could have easily killed her but instead it buried her. It protected her and then it led you away from her position.”

“That was the wolf, not you.”

“The wolf is me. The wolf decided to keep her safe and after that, so did I.”

“Why did you do that?”

“It’s going to sound silly to you but the wolf knew that she was meant to be my mate.”

Snow looks a little green around the gills and her voice is cold and flat as she changes the direction of their conversation. “You could have spied on her for us.”

“No I could not have. Just as I could never have spied on you for her.”

“What did you say when she asked you to?”

“She didn’t.”

Snow’s disbelief is evident and once again Red questions the moral compass that governs the land she hails from. The righteous Snow White would have had used the situation to her advantage without so much as a second thought to Red’s feelings while her enemy never one asked that of Red. “Perhaps she didn’t have to, she probably used you without your knowledge. I bet that, through her access to her, she was able to watch our movements with her magic,” Snow is, perhaps unsurprisingly, unable to accept that Regina might be the better person in this instance.

“It’s possible that she’s not what you think she is and that the reason she didn’t ask me is that she didn’t think I’d say yes.”

“Why would she had even bothered to ask when she could have just forced you to do it?”

“She could have force me to stay with her and she didn’t do that.”

“Regina is a master manipulator, Red. I know firsthand that she can make you feel loved when you’re not.”

“Am I somehow not worth loving?”

“You are more than worth it but that woman is not capable of love.

“I happen to think that she is and that she needed something in her life that wasn’t about magic or fear or anger. I think she needed something real.”

“I can see how that might be,” Snow gives a slow but somehow judgemental nod, “but what I don’t understand is why you needed her. You had a family. _I_ was your family.”

“I thought you still were. Or am I not allowed to have anyone else.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You have your husband and now it seems you have daughter and a grandson.”

“What’s wrong with that?”

“Nothing but I feel like you’re allowed to have all the family in the world but I’m only allowed to have you and Granny.”

“Of course you’re allowed to have a family but Red, Regina is not your family.”

“She is to me.”

“How can you say that when we’ve been through so much together.”

“How I feel about Regina doesn’t change that.”

“I’m sad to say that I think it does,” Snow actually shuffles away from Red.

“Does that mean we’re not friends anymore?”

“I don’t know. I don’t think that we can be now that I know you chose her.”

“But don’t you see, that’s worst bit of all, I _never_ chose her. I didn’t want to give up my life.”

“That would have put you into a position where you would have been hated and hunted. Why would you have done that to yourself?”

“For her.”

“Red, she wasn’t worth that.”

“To me she was and I never made that clear to her. I didn’t care what people thought of me but I didn’t want to have betrayed you and because of that I think I made her very unhappy. I think I’m part of the reason she cast the curse.”

“She cast the curse because she was evil.”

“You don’t know her and you don’t know what it cost her to cast that spell.”

“Of course I know her, she was my mother!” Snow exclaims.

“She was your step-mother,” Red corrects, “and she was a child.”

“She was adult enough to murder my father.”

“I never once said she hasn’t done bad things.”

“Red, she murdered him, that’s not some minor thing.”

“And she killed her own father to cast that curse, I don’t imagine that was a minor thing either.”

“She did what?”

“Magic comes with a price,” Red explains.

“How can you possibly be okay with that?”

“I’m not,” there might be a part of her that she sees a future with Regina in Storybrooke that never would have been possible in the Enchanted Forest but that doesn’t mean that the condones the lengths Regina went to, the ends don’t necessarily justify the means. 

“But you don’t hate her for it?” Snow pushes.

It’s a loaded question, Snow knows that Red doesn’t hate Regina, and it seems like Snow is setting her up to fail. “I hate that she felt that she had no other choice and I hate that I was part of what made her feel that way.” It’s a terrible irony to know that their relationship led Regina to a place where vendettas and blood feuds were no longer enough to sustain her. It’s just possible that if Red had never given Regina a taste of happiness that there would have been no need for the curse. 

“How can you not see her for what she is?”

“Maybe she’s something different to me than she to you.”

“That’s not possible, how can you be so naïve?” Snow pounds her fist on the ground in frustration.

“I think it is possible and I think that’s exactly what you’re upset about.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You’re acting like you’re jealous.”

“I’m not jealous,” Snow hisses in a manner that is not becoming of the realm’s perfect and beloved ruler.

“You certainly seem like you are and the scary thing is that I’m not even sure who you are jealous of.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

“I don’t think I’m being ridiculous. I think she’s important to you.”

“She’s my enemy Red.”

“And you don’t think that’s significant? “

“Of course not.”

“The war between you kept you bound to one another. Kept you important to one another.”

“That’s crazy talk,” Snow protests but her voice and her lip quaver and she doesn’t at all seem like that leader she tries so hard to be, she seems like a child. Red has the sudden realisation that that is exactly what Snow White is, she is child who lost her mother. A child who is trying to cling to the only parent she has left, no matter how damaged and disturbing their relationship might be.

“I’m not trying to offend you. I just want to get things out in the open. If we die here, I don’t want it to be with you hating me and if by some miracle we make it back I don’t want to have lost you.”

Snow looks away and Red tries not to notice just how long it is taking her to respond. “What if I asked you not to see her?”

“I hope that it won’t come to that.”

“But if it does?” Snow insists.

“Snow,” she says carefully, “you are very important to me. I would go so far as to say that you and Reinga are the most important people in my life but I think Granny would kick my ass for thinking that,” Snow give the tiniest of smiles at the thought. “I don’t ever want to have to decide between you and her but make no mistake, if it comes to that I will pick Regina. I failed to do that once and I’m not going to make that mistake again.”

“I guess I should be grateful for your honesty,” Snow doesn’t sound the least bit grateful.

“In the spirit of honesty I want you to know that it is my wish to have both of you in my life.”

“I’m not sure that I will ever be able to accept Regina as a part of your life but for your sake I’d like to try.”

Red knows it might be the direness of their situation talking but she doesn’t care, she will take any win that she can get. She launches herself at Snow and throws her arms around her neck. “Thank you!” She moves over so that she can rest her head on Snow’s shoulder. “You do know that there are reasons beyond me that you need to try and find a way to bury the hatchet with Regina, right? She’s an important part of Henry’s life.”

“When we get back I am going to make she that she is never allowed near Henry again.”

“To what end?”

“To protect him of course.”

“Protect him from the only mother he has ever known?” She hopes she doesn’t make it clear just how short-sighted and self-absorbed Snow sounds to her right now. 

“He shouldn’t know her at all. Emma is his mother.”

“And clearly she is going to have a role in his life but that doesn’t mean that Regina shouldn’t.”

“She doesn’t deserve to have any part of Henry’s life,” Snow says primly.

“This isn’t about what she deserves. It’s about Henry and the fact that she has raised and cared for him for the last ten years. She’s his mother.

“But I don’t want her to be,” Snow confesses and Red places a comforting arm around her.

“Be that it as it may, it doesn’t change the fact that she is the mother of your grandson, Snow, which I guess makes her your daughter in a way.”

“Good lord,” Snow cries as she rests her head on top of Red’s, “I’m living a nightmare.”

Red had been terrified that she was going to die in Fairy Tale Land and while part of her was livid that her end might come in this world that she feels she wasn’t built for, it wasn’t enough to make her think she had a chance of surviving. It turns out that there are some things that are more motivating than anger and more important than self-preservation because there is no way that she is not going live to see Regina dealing with the fact that Snow now has a maternal role in her life. 

. . . . . . . .

Her hands sweat in a way that is unacceptable and unbecoming. The sensation makes her skin crawl and her palms itch. She checks her watch yet again and curses the tardiness of only official to have ever been elected in Storybrooke. “First and last,” Regina mutters as more precious seconds ebb away.

Regina is about to call the sheriff for the fifth time when Emma comes crashing into view, her blond hair flying behind her and a sullen Henry in tow.

“Why would you bring him here?”

Emma looks perplexed and Regina thinks back to make sure that she has not accidently used any words longer than one syllable. “I know things aren’t the best between you two right now but I thought you’d want him to come.”

“I’m about to open a portal that could bring the wraith back. I want him as far away from here as possible.”

“But it’s okay for me to be put in danger?”

“Naturally. You’re the sheriff and the saviour, it’s all part of the job description.”

“You don’t care that Emma might get hurt?” Henry interjects. 

“I honestly want her to be okay,” she tells her son.

“You don’t even like her.”

“No I don’t,” his mouth opens in surprise in response to her admission, “but I will not leave you without a mother, even if she is an inferior one.”

Henry eyes her intently and chews at his lip, “You don’t think you’re coming back.”

She kneels down in front of him and her lets her hug him but doesn’t hug her back. It’s a triumph and a crushing defeat all at once. “I am going to do everything in my power to bring everyone back safely, including me.”

“But you not sure that it’s in your power to do that, are you?” Sometimes her boy is more astute than she would like him to be.

“As much as it irks me to admit, not everything is in my power.”

He nods solemnly. “I don’t know how I feel about you but I don’t want anything bad to happen to you.”

It’s not much but to Regina it feels like the whole world. “Thank you Henry.”

Just when she thought things couldn’t get any better he adds, “I don’t want you to die,” and her heart instantly doubles in size.

“Neither do I sweetheart, neither do I.” 

Naturally Emma decides to interrupt what is their first positive interaction in quite some time, “So what’s the plan, what do you need me to do?”

If time wasn’t of the essence she’d have some choice words to say to Emma but Red’s safety trumps Regina’s anger at the saviour. She hands a vial over to Emma, “This is a death curse.”

“A what?”

“The name is relatively self-explanatory dear.”

“What do you want me to do with this?” Emma’s examines the vial likes she’s worried its contents might bite her. 

“I’m going to use the well to open the portal. I need you to stay here and watch it closely. If anyone, and I do mean anyone, other than your mother, Red or myself comes out of the well I am going to need you use it. You don’t think twice, you don’t think at all, you empty the contents of that,” she points at the glass container in Emma’s hand, “into the well. The wraith was banished but it’s not gone and anything else could use the portal to get to Storybrooke and I will not allow that to happen. I will not have this town put at risk.”

“If I have to use it what happens to the three of you?”

“Miss Swan,” she says gravely, “if you have to use the curse it’s already too late for the three of us. I hate being in this position but I’m relying on you to do what needs to be done. I’m relying on you to protect my town. To protect my son.”

“You say that like you don’t think I’m up to the task.”

Regina fires her a withering glare, “Do me a favour and prove me wrong Miss Swan.”

She strokes Henry’s hair for what could be the last time and steps up to the well. Regina places her hands over the opening and spreads her fingers wide. She lets the magic flow from her to the water and hopes that its ability to return what has been lost will work to her advantage. The only thought she has is Red, she conjures an image of the girl in her mind and as the portal grows in size and strength the image becomes clearer and clearer. She can sense the girl, she can feel Red pulling her towards her and she follows that pull into the portal but as soon as she enters she can feel another presence. Something stronger, something evil, something impossible. 

. . . . . . . .

The ground shakes and the world goes from night to day in an instant but as quickly as it started it ends. The sun returns and the air is clear. Birds chirp and if it wasn’t for the purple lightening flashing in the distance there would be no evidence that anything strange has occurred. 

“What was that?” Snow asks.

“Regina,” Red answers in awe.

“Ruby, I know you’d like that be true but it could have been anything.” They both knows that she means that it could have been Cora.

“It was Regina, I know it was,” Red insists.

“You can’t possibly know that.”

“You and David run around finding one another all the time but I can’t know when something is Regina.”

“I don’t think you can compare those situations.” 

Red growls and bares her teeth and Snow steps back with fear in her eyes. “I’m sorry,” and she truly is, she doesn’t usually lose control like this, certainly not more than a week away from the full moon. “I just know I need to get to her.”

“Then we will go and find her,” Snow acquiesces but it’s clear that she has her doubts about this plan.

Red is willing to accept that approval, however reluctantly given, and she takes off in the direction of the purple lightening that continues to blaze through the sky. Her feet fly over the ground, hurtling her towards her destination, and with each step she can feel Regina getting closer and closer. The siren call strengthens even as the lightening dissipates and she continues with her journey, sure of foot and certain of heart. 

The further she travels the more painful the sensation becomes and although she doesn’t break her stride she gasps in surprise when she realises that the pain she is experiencing is not her own. The pain is Regina’s and the pain is real and that knowledge causes her to accelerate even though her body’s reserves are depleted. Snow calls out in protest at the increase in pace but she can’t bring herself to slow down. Her lungs are burning and her legs are shaking but she pushes on until there is a burst of pain in her chest that nearly causes her to collapse. She doubles over, trying to squeeze the pain out of her body and when she is able to look up she realises that she has reached her destination. 

Regina is suspended in the air. Vines hold her in place and her mother is toying with her like a cat playing with a mouse. It’s not how Regina should ever be treated and anger floods every cell in Red’s body at the sight of this injustice. Before she knows what is happening she is in motion, her body flying through the air, knocking Cora to the ground as her teeth sink into Cora’s arm. Her bite is powerful and Cora struggles to shakes her free and it is at this point that she becomes aware that the impossible has happened – she has transformed. She pulls away a chunk of flesh and then snaps her jaws closed again. Her claws gouge at Cora’s neck and the woman screams in pain.

Red relishes in the attack, certain of her victory, as her foe whimpers below her. Cora goes limp but it turns out that she is down but not out because the second Red releases her jaws a force flings her back. Her body is on fire, every part of her is burning. Literally burning. The clothes that remain around her altered form are melting into her fur. The pain is excruciating and she passes out before she even hits the ground.

. . . . . . . .

The confrontation between her mother and the girl had played out in slow motion. It was like she watching a movie, like it wasn’t real. There wasn’t even a desire to intervene, not until the wolf turned back into the girl and the girl fell to the ground. She looks at the fallen body of the girl and something clicks inside of her. Magic, white-hot, powerful, and foreign, flows through her and somehow erupts out of her pores. It’s agonising in its brightness and it is like nothing she has ever seen before.

Streams of energy flow from her and pin Cora to the ground. Cora screams in surprise and disbelief and Regina can feel her mother’s magic trying to push back against her own. Cora’s efforts are to no avail. Whatever this power is that Regina is harnessing, it is unstoppable. It wraps tendrils around Cora, weaving strands tighter and tighter until Cora disappears, engulfed by a glowing cocoon. 

When the makeshift sarcophagus is completed the remaining magic snaps back into Regina like a released rubber band and almost knocks her on her ass. She reels back from the impact and her body shudders at it resorbs the energy. When she is able to move again she rushes to the girl’s side. Red is naked and unmoving, her clothes either burnt away of burnt into her skin. 

Regina attempts to heal her but the tsunami of magic that tumbled out of her with a destructive force only a moment ago is now walled up behind a damn. It’s not the same as before she used the book. Her magic is not gone, it’s not even out of reach, it’s simply been drained. She cannot afford to wait here until her magical batteries recharge and so she gathers the girl into arms and struggles towards the portal.

Snow appears out of nowhere. At least she thinks it’s out of nowhere, for all Regina knows, Snow could have been there the whole time. For Regina, Snow’s presence, much like her very existence, is inconsequential. “You can’t carry her alone, let me help you.”

“If you want to help,” she grunts, “you take that bow of yours and you fire at anything that so much as moves.”

To her credit, Snow grabs and notches an arrow. Happy that Snow has obeyed this instruction Regina pays no further attention to her and concentrates on the girl in her arms instead. 

When they reach the portal it appears to be becoming unstable. The strange magic in the air seems to have had an impact on is cohesion. She orders Snow to enter and the follows close on her heels. It should be difficult to extricate herself and the girl from the well but nothing that important can ever really be difficult. 

The moment they are clear of the portal she orders Emma to use the death curse. Before the curse has even had a chance to take effect she has grabbed Emma’s hand, stealing magic from her and directing it into her precious cargo. Emma falls against the well, clearly waning as the energy is leached from her body but Reinga doesn’t stop until the burnt flesh covering the girl’s body is replaced by fresh new skin. Red coughs and Regina finally allows herself to release the breath that she has been holding since her mother first appeared when the girl’s eyes flutter open.  
. . . . . . . .

When she awakes she finds herself in darkness. Her mind flashes back to the fight with Cora and she’s alarmed to realise that she is no longer in pain. She remembers the flames and just the thought of it brings back the heat, it laps at her skin but still there is no pain. She knows that it’s possible for burns to be so bad that they are no longer painful and she fears she is now blind and severely burnt.

Her breathing is shallow, she is worried that her chest can’t expand enough, and although she is starting to feel dizzy she is also starting to recognize shapes in the room. She is not blind and she is not in Fairy Tale Land anymore – thank fuck. She is also definitely not in the Storybrooke hospital. No room in that facility is this large and as she cautiously tries to move her limbs she becomes aware that no bed there is this big.

“Hey,” a warm voice tickles her ear as fingers weave into her hair, “you’re awake.”

“I hope so.”

“This is not a dream.”

“It certainly feels like one,” but when she tries to roll onto her side to face the source of the voice the pain finally comes.

“Careful,” says the voice, “I dealt with your burns as best I could but that doesn’t mean you are completely healed.”

“We’re home.”

“Yes,” a kiss lands on her forehand and the pain her body seems a small price to pay for all that she has right now.

As the glow of the kiss fades she suddenly realises the potential implication in her previous statement, “I didn’t mean to say…that is I didn’t mean to suggest…that this…that you…”

“Shhhh,” another kiss, this time to her lips, “you are home,” Regina says with finality. Tension drains from Red’s body and she feels positively light, a feeling that only grows when Regina whispers, “That is, you’re home if that’s what you want.”

Her eyes have adjusted and in the darkness of the room Regina looks small and vulnerable. “It’s what I’ve always wanted. I was just afraid.”

“And now?”

“There are scarier things out there than our relationship and what it means.”

“You make me feel so special,” Regina says dryly.

“It was never about you not being special. It was about me being frightened to leave my life behind. Looking back I’m kinda embarrassed about that, it doesn’t seem like much of a life to have been clinging on to.”

“But it was the only life you knew.”

“That’s true but it’s not one that I want anymore.”

“Going back didn’t make you nostalgic?’’

“Not in the least.”

“But it wasn’t actually the Enchanted Forest, it wasn’t your home.”

“It was close enough for me to know that it’s not for me.”

“I don’t think all of the residents of this town feel that way.”

“I know what you mean. She didn’t say anything but I got the definite sense that Snow is itching to return. At this point I suspect the only thing that’s stopping her from selling her soul to Rumpelstiltskin to get back there is her fear of you mother.”

“It’s nice to know she’s good for something,” Regina jokes but her body has stiffened.

Red tries to ignore the pain that is lancing through her insides as she moves closer and takes Regina in her arms. “She’s not here. She can’t hurt you. Not anymore.”

“It’s not me I’m worried about. She could have killed you today.” Regina trembles in her arms and buries her face in the crook of Red’s neck. 

She weaves one hand into Regina’s hair and uses the other one to rub Regina’s back. “I’m fine. Well mostly,” she winces.

“I’m sorry. This is hurting you, isn’t it?”

“There’s nothing to be sorry about.” She kisses away Regina’s tears before claiming her mouth. Regina kisses her back. The kiss is chaste but insistent, they both need reassurance that this is real, that they have escaped relatively unscathed. Their lips meet and meld over and over again but Regina baulks when Red attempts to deepen the kiss.

“We shouldn’t,” she pushes gently on Red’s shoulders.

“We totally should,” Red disagrees.

“You’re hurt.”

“I’m injured, I’m not dead, which I what I would need to be to not what to do this.”

“Are you sure?”

“So very sure.” They kiss again and this time Regina grants her tongue entry. She continues the kiss as she slips her hands under Regina shirt. Her hands map the plains of Regina’s back but when she attempts to unhook Regina’s bra she hits a snag. Red tears her mouth away from Regina’s in frustration. “Front clasp, seriously?”

“I didn’t think we’d be doing this,” Regina apologises.

“You left me naked in your bed and you didn’t think we’d be doing this? I’m offended.”

“I did like the naked part,” Regina’s voice is dark and sultry and it hits like a blow in the pit of Red’s stomach.

“I’m a bit of a fan myself,” Red growls, “so let’s get you naked.” She goes to unbutton Regina’s shirt but the movement makes her ribs feel like they are tearing apart.

“Don’t worry, I’ve got this.” Regina rolls Red back onto her back. The action is precise and delicate, as though she fears Red might break. When Red is resting comfortably on the pillows Regina slowly unbuttons her own shirt and then unclasps her bra. Red bites her lip in frustration and laments the fact that she isn’t able to touch Regina as freely as she wants.

“Not that I’m complaining but why are you still dressed like you are about to go into work?”

Regina pulls at the sides of her undone blouse and then rans a hand over her pants. “These are house clothes.”

“There are not,” Red says in disbelief.

“They are not good enough for work.”

“Regina, they are better than anything I own.”

Regina tilts her head to the side, “I can’t think of a way to respond to that without offending you darling.”

“It was your curse. You dressed me.”

“Well it’s clear that my talents lie in getting you out of clothes and not into them.”

“And it seems that you’ve already done that but you’re not really coming to the party with getting yourself undressed now, are you?”

Regina narrows her eyes in challenge but before Red can muster a glare in return, Regina has removed her clothes using magic. “Better?”

“Most definitely.”

“Good.” Regina crawls up the bed and over Red. Regina is suspended above her, holding all of her own weight, “You promise you’ll let me know if I hurt you.”

“Mmm-mmm ,” she nods but pain is the very last thing on her mind.

Lips descend to her neck and then take a gentle but erotic journey down her throat and across her collar bone. They still on her shoulder, sucking and nipping at the flesh there, and then move back to her collar bone. Feather light butterfly kisses map her sternum before cautiously moving to her breast. She releases a guttural moan when Regina finally directs her attention to a nipple.

She arches her back without thinking and it spasms in several places forcing her to gingerly return to a flat position. “Did I hurt you?” Regina asks in fear.

“No, I did that to myself. I was a little more enthusiastic then I should have been.”

“I see.” Regina moves until she is lying on her side and then runs a finger between Red’s breasts. “Is this okay? I used up a lot of my strength today.”

Red closes her eyes and tries not to think about the reasons Regina’s strength is depleted. “It’s fine.” Regina’s finger reverses and skims down Red’s body stopping just above her pelvis. “It’s more than fine.”

More fingers join in the exploration, dusting over the Red’s hip. Her breath hitches when the fingers reach her erect nipple. They toy with it, rolling and pinching. It appears to be one part of her body where Regina doesn’t need to worry about being gentle. At some point Regina must decide that Red’s other nipple is being neglected because she moves her assault to that terrain. Regina flicks and teases the tender area and Red whimpers her approval.

She registers her approval more loudly when Regina’s hand slides back down her body and for the first time moves to the area where she is dying to be touched. Red can hear Regina’s fingers move as they slide over her wet flesh. She bucks her hips and the back spasms return in force.

“Gentle, gentle,” Regina chides and then in complete contradiction to her words she flicks a nail against Red’s clitoris. Red hisses and then exhales loudly. Regina is emboldened by Red’s response and focuses all of her attention on the sensitive bundles of nerves.

Red forces herself to stay still despite the ever growing desire she has to squirm beneath Regina’s touch. It’s not the most adventurous, or even the most passionate, that their carnal activities have ever been but every single caress has conveyed love. Red finds herself overwhelmed by both the emotional and the physical sensations and isn’t long before a wave of pleasure crashes over her and has her screaming out Regina’s name.

She gulps audibly as she watches Regina lick her fingers clean and then place those fingers between her own legs. Red grabs Regina free hand and holds it tightly while Regina touches herself. The sight is glorious but she wishes she was the one bringing Regina pleasure. She watches Regina’s face, noticing every slight change that crosses her beautiful features. Red smiles when Regina’s mouth drops open and her eyes close, heralding the cry of ecstasy that soon follows.

Regina is still and silent for a while but eventually she places a protective arm across Red’s stomach. “So,” Regina says, “are we going to talk about it?”

“Let’s see, you’re weak and I’m injured but overall I would still say it was above average.”

Regina smacks her playfully, “That’s not what I meant and you know it. You turned.”

“I know.”

“In the daylight.”

“I know.”

“How?”

“Now _that_ I don’t know. I didn’t even notice it was happening, it’s not very clear.”

“You don’t remember?”

“It’s not like it was before. The memory’s not gone. I can recall what I did but not how. I know that one minute I was wasn’t the wolf and the next thing I was. That’s not quite true, I didn’t even know that I was the wolf at first. That’s not how things normally go. It’s never been under my control but I can usually feel the change coming, like the night is calling and the moon is waiting.”

“Waiting for what?”

“For me to become, I guess.”

“Become the wolf, you mean.”

“Yes but not just the wolf. It feels like I will become something powerful, something important, something more.”

“You’re already important.”

“Not to moon.”

“The moon knows nothing,” Regina strokes her arm, “the wolf is not something more, the wolf is just part of who you are.”

“Sometimes I struggle with that, not many people have made me feel that I can be both. Snow was the first.” Regina lets out a groan and stops caressing her arm. “You don’t like me talking about Snow?”

“I like you referencing Snow and struggling in the same breath. That seems quite apt.”

“You’re impossible,” she says but she snuggles against Regina. “I suppose Snow was a big part of why I could never stay with you in the Enchanted Forest.:

“Yet another reason to hate that woman.”

“She was good to me, better than anyone had been.” Regina clears in her throat in objection. “You don’t count.”

“Why not?”

“You’re different.”

“To the bird obsessed twit? I certainly hope so or I’d have to kill myself.”

“Behave, I’m trying to have a serious conversation.”

“Then were are going to need to change the topic because I can’t have a serious conversation about that woman that doesn’t end in plans for murder or mayhem.”

“You’re both important to me. I know there’s history there and a lot of bad blood.”

“Not enough blood,” Regina complains, “the woman continues to draw breath.”

“Stop pretending that you are still the Evil Queen.”

“If you keep bringing her up that’s just what I might become.”

“I do want the two of you to try and get along or at the very least try not kill one another.”

“If it’s important you I’ll try but I’m not promising to like it.”

“I believe in you. I know you can be the bigger person.”

“Oh that’s low,” Regina pulls away from her, “of course I’m better than Snow, it’s not hard, but it’s also not fair to use that against me. I hate you right now.”

“You love me really,” Red says as she reaches for the older woman.

Regina bats Red’s hand away. “I was wrong before, the moon did know what it was talking about, the wolf is infinitely better.”

“You don’t mean that.”

“The wolf is certainly a whole lot less problematic.”

“The wolf doesn’t have ties. The wolf was free to do what it wanted. Free to choose you.”

“The wolf has appropriate priorities.”

“Excuse me! Have you forgotten that I managed to turn myself into the wolf today because you were in danger?”

“Do you really think that’s what happened?”

“There’s no other possible reason or explanation. I couldn’t let her hurt you.”

“Red,” Regina says tenderly and runs the back of her hand down the side of Red’s face. “I released some magic today. It was different than any magic I’ve used before. I think it was light magic and I think it was because I was trying to protect you.”

“I know it’s not true love’s kiss but I happen to think that what we did today was pretty fucking awesome. I happen that think that we are pretty fucking awesome.” Based on the passion with which she kisses Red, it would appear that Regina agrees.

. . . . . . . .

She’d expected the girl to be asleep when she returned from the bathroom but Red appears to have been waiting for her to return. Regina climbs onto the bed and is about to turn off the light when she notices the pensive expression on the girl’s face. “What’s wrong?”

“I don’t appear to have any clothes,” Red says awkwardly.

“It’s never bothered you to be naked in my bed before.”

“It still doesn’t,” she replies flirtatiously, “but I don’t seem to have any clothes at all.”

“What wasn’t ripped was burnt away,” she wanted to sound strong but her voice cracked.

“I’m going to need something to wear in the morning.”

“I have some plans for the morning that don’t involve clothes.”

“I don’t have a problem with that but at some point I am going to need to wear something.”

“You didn’t used to have a problem with stealing my robes.”

The girl’s face flushes with what Regina hopes are pleasant memories. “I still don’t but I am going to need more than just a robe.”

“It’s not a big deal, we’ll sort something out.”

“Okay, it’s fine,” Red says but Regina gets the distinct impression that it’s anything but fine.

“Is something wrong?”

“I don’t know that I’m comfortable with wearing anything from my Storybrooke wardrobe,” the girl confesses.

“Ahh, I see. You did wear those outfits very well but there are many of them that I would prefer that you never wear again. Unless we’re in private of course.”

Red smiles, “It’s not weird that I want something different?”

“No, not at all.”

“It’s more than just the clothes though. I have memories of two different lives. I feel like I’m two different people.”

“Who do you want to be?”

“I want to be me but I’m not sure that I know who that is.”

She traces her fingers over the girl’s face, “I don’t feel like you are any different.” 

“I don’t feel like Ruby when I’m with you.”

“I didn’t even think. I should have asked you what you wanted to be called. I guess I just assumed you were still Red.”

“I am when I’m with you and I don’t want to be anyone else,” the girl hesitates, “but I’m worried that I might have changed and that maybe you won’t want that.”

“The same could be said for me. I not the same as I was either.”

“I guess.”

“I may not have two sets of memories, not the way that you do, but I feel like I’ve had multiple different lives. There are stages of my life that feel completely alien to the person that I am now. Or at least who I hope I am now.”

“Are you trying to tell me that I am worrying too much?”

“Too much for the time of night and too much for the day we’ve had. It’s time for sleep.” She turns off the light signally the end of the discussion for now.

“Goodnight Regina.”

“Goodnight Red.”

. . . . . . . .

If the world was a just place they would have been allowed at least one morning to recuperate but the world is anything but just. She is woken by the sound of a phone ringing and groggily attempts to piece together the conversation that Regina is currently having. She only has access to one side of the exchange but it is obvious that Regina is becoming increasingly distressed by whatever news she is receiving. Regina hangs up the phone and looks at her with frightened eyes that border on feral. “Henry is in trouble,” she explains.

Red throws the covers off herself and leaps out of bed. The pain of yesterday is completely gone which is something that she knows is impossible. Regina must have been awake during the night continuing to heal her. Regina waves a hand and they are both dressed and ready for action. There is no discussion or negotiation necessary, they exit the house and get into Regina’s car. Regina disobeys all traffic regulations but the scowl on her face suggests that she still doesn’t think they are going fast enough.

“Where are we going?”

“To Henry.”

She wants to smack herself in the head because she walked right into that one. “Why are we driving?”

The scowl on Regina’s face deepens and displeasure drips from her voice as she says, “I need to save my magic for what is ahead.”

She can’t help but feel responsible, if Regina hadn’t have continued to heal her she might be better equipped for whatever it is they are about to face. Red decides to try non-verbal communication instead and she places a hand on Regina’s thigh. The muscles in Regina’s leg tense but Red doesn’t move her hand. Even if Regina doesn’t like it she is going to remind her that she is not alone, not anymore. 

Which a squeal of tires and the smell of burning rubber Regina pulls the car to a stop. The stench of the stable assaults her senses, apparently not even burnt rubber can drown out the combination of hay and manure. She attempts to process the scene around her. Emma and David have their gun and sword drawn, respectively, and their eyes are trained on a patchwork quilt of man who is holding Henry against his body. His arm it tight across Henry’s neck and the boy is struggling to breathe. She must still be delirious from her recent injuries because she could swear that the next thing she hears is Regina whisper, “Daniel.”

She shakes her head in disbelief, “Daniel?”

“What’s left of him.”

“How is that possible?”

“He was in my crypt. Someone has reanimated him somehow.”

She is tempted to say that they have not done a very good job but the observation is unnecessary. What stands before them is not so much of a man as it is a monster. The creature groans and spits but when its eyes lock onto Regina it shrieks as though it is in pain. Regina doesn’t seem to know where to look and Henry’s legs are kicking in the air as his face turns blue.

“I’m going to take care of this,” she tells Regina.

“No,” Regina is emphatic, “it should be me.”

Regina approaches the man monster and asks it to let the boy go and to Red’s great surprise Henry is released. Emma grabs his arm, dragging him away from Daniel and bringing him to Red’s side. Red had been following the path of Regina’s son and has failed to pay attention to what Regina was doing. When she does notice, it feels like too little, too late because Regina has gone into a stall with that thing.

Henry looks up at her and his eyes are almost as feral as Regina’s were earlier. “We have to help her. We have to get her out of there.”

Red could not agree more and she goes to run after Regina but David grabs her from behind, holding her in place. She didn’t notice that he’d moved either, her observational skills are really failing her today. “Let me go!” she yells as she attempts to pry his hands off her body.

“She thinks that she can talk to him. She thinks she can reason with him,” David says.

“Whatever Daniel has become, he is clearly beyond reason.”

“Who is Daniel?” Henry asks.

“He was her fiancé a long time ago.”

“What did she do to him?” Red wants to slap Henry for his impudence but that’s not the best move for someone who needs to form a maternal relationship with a child who already has mothers to spare.

“She fell in love with him and her mother killed him because of it.”

Henry’s brow wrinkles in confusion. The thought of his mother as an innocent victim is evidently out of keeping with the vision of the Evil Queen that he has painted in his head. “Is she going to be okay?”

“I don’t know,” she says honestly. Daniel may not hurt her physically but there are bound to be emotional repercussions. 

They wait in silence and as time passes David relaxes allowing Red to break free of his grasp. She sprints away defying their warnings and protests and arrives at the stall door just in time to hear Regina tell Daniel that she loves him. She should have listened to others because now she believes she might be the one who doesn’t survive this confrontation. She’s fairly certain that it’s not actually possible to die from a broken heart but she’s definitely about to put that theory to the test.

Red clutches her chest and if she could rip her own heart out to spare herself this pain, she would. Regina staggers out of the stall and falls into Red’s arms.

“He’s gone,” Regina tells her, “I killed him.” Her heart should repair itself at those words but now it’s busy breaking for Regina.

“It’s okay,” she says running soothing hands over Regina’s back. “It’s okay. It’s over.”

Regina looks at her, Red expected her eyes to be full of pain but instead they are dead, “It’s never over.” 

. . . . . . . .

An arm wraps around her shoulders and directs her forward but she has only the vaguest awareness of its presence. Everything seems too bright and too close and yet at the same time she feels as though she is drowning in darkness and that the world is far, far away. Nothing makes sense to her and she is certain that the blood rushing through her ears in a deafening howl is impairing her ability to think.

She is barely aware that she has moved when she finds herself standing beside her car. Henry is nowhere in sight and she doesn’t know how that happened either. The last thing she clearly remembers is her son flinging himself into arms while she clung to him like a lifeline. That lifeline has gone now and she doesn’t understand how she failed to notice its absence. Regina spins in a circle and forces her eyes to scan for her son but he refuses to appear. Henry is gone, there is no one here but the girl. The girl and the car.

The girl opens the door to the passenger seat and directs Regina inside. The car moves and although the movement is jerky at times it doesn’t bother her in the slightest. She has little awareness or concern for her surroundings but from time to time she can feel the girl watching her. A wave of uncomfortableness comes from the girl each time Regina senses eyes on her and a small voice reminds Regina that the girl is likely to be freaked out, she would normally die before she let anyone drive her car, but the voice disappears almost as quickly as it surfaced.

She doesn’t notice the car stop moving and only becomes aware that they have come to a halt when Red leans through the door to unbuckle her belt and strokes her cheek. Regina shakes her head but the fog will not clear. Hands grab hers and she is led from the car and into the house. Eventually those hands press down on her shoulders and she follows the downward motion and finds herself sitting in a chair at the dining room table.

The girl disappears and Regina has no idea how long it is before she returns. A plate of food is placed in front of her but she cannot lift the fork to her month. She spends an indeterminable amount of time pushing items around the plate before the girl removes it altogether and then leads her upstairs.

Before she knows what is happening she is standing naked in her bathroom and is ushered under her shower with a gentle push. She had expected the girl to stay but as the water hits her body she finds herself alone. She turns the hot water faucet as far as it will go and even though her body turns red she still feels ice cold. She slumps to the floor and lets the water pound down on her. It’s possible that she is crying but if she is, the tears are lost in the rivers raining down on her from the showerhead.

She draws her legs to her chest and tries to make herself as small as possible. Her forehead rests on her knees as she attempts to make both herself and the world disappear. Regina tells herself that she will stay here until the hot water runs out but she’s honestly not sure how she will know when that happens.

. . . . . . . ..

The sound of the water being turned off solves the dilemma that Red has been wrestling with for close to forty minutes. She was being to believe that the only way that Regina was going to come out of that shower was if Red went in and physically removed her. She was doing her best to give Regina some breathing room but she’s been slowly going insane while waiting for the other woman to return.

Regina eventually emerges from the en suite and although her wet her and change into simple cotton pyjamas suggest that something occurred in the time since Red last saw her, she still bears a remarkable resemblance to a zombie as she drags herself across the room. The slow and laborious movements are such a stark contrast to the woman’s normal graceful fluidity and regal presence that watching her makes Red’s heart ache.

When she reaches the bed her eyes fall on Red and there is a flicker of recognition that is followed by a sigh as Regina lifts the covers and climbs in. “You shouldn’t be here,” she tells Red and then contradicts her statement by curling up beside her and letting Red envelope her with her arms.

“I’m exactly where I want to be.

“You shouldn’t be here,” Regina repeats, “you should run as far and as fast from me as you can. Being around me only puts you in danger. I have nothing good to offer you.” 

“Wow,” Red ignores Regina’s advice and draws her closer, “your mother really messed with your head, didn’t she?”

“This has nothing to do with her. In case you failed to notice, Daniel came back from the dead today,” Regina sounds bone weary but the angry edge of the Evil Queen dances behind her words.

“And you think that didn’t remind you of your past, of when he was alive, and of what mother did to him?”

“It’s not that simple and it’s not all about her.”

“Of course it is. In a way it always has been.”

“I’ve killed her. Why isn’t that enough? Why won’t she stay dead?” Regina sounds like a small child.

“Because the ghosts of our parents never do.”

“How can you be so understanding? I’m a monster. I’m what she made me.”

“My family fucked with me too, remember? They didn’t tell me what I was and I murdered indiscriminately as a result.”

“It’s not the same.”

“You’re right. At least your mother never hid what she was.”

Regina shuffles up the bed to look Red in the eyes, “Are you seriously trying to one up me?”

“Well, it bears thinking about. I also had a complicated relationship with my mother.”

“There is no comparison.”

“Are you sure? We’ve not even spoken about my mother and I’ve at least met yours, so I think I’m the only one who gets to talk with some authority on this matter.”

Regina’s arms move so that they are against Red’s back, her hands are wrapped so tightly around Red’s shoulders that her finger tips are probably going to leave bruises, “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” She whispers over and over and it’s not entirely clear just who that apology is meant for.

“Hey,” Red plants a kiss on Regna’s forehead, “it’s okay.”

“No it’s not. I never wanted you to be exposed to her.”

“I’m alright,” Red reassures her. “I’m here.”

“I don’t really know why,” Regina says forlornly, “how can you want to stay with me?”

“Do you not understand the part where I’m completely in love with you?”

Regina closes her eyes and sighs. “That’s probably not a great idea, we both know I killed my first love today.”

“That’s just another thing we have in common. Besides,” she says as strokes Regina’s hair, “that wasn’t him today. Not the real him.”

“I know that, I do,” Regina insists but there’s a tremor to her voice, “but between seeing him and having to deal with my mother I feel like I’m right back there. Like nothing ever changed.”

“Like none of this was worth it?” Red dares to ask even though every sensible part of her body tells her that it’s a terrible idea.

The nod Regina gives is almost imperceptible and the, “Yes,” that she delivers is more a shudder created with sound than an actual word.

Red feels her own breath hitch and the only thing that she can think to say is, “Oh Regina.”

“It doesn’t mean that I think it’s true,” Regina attempts to explain. “I just feel raw and it all seems too big, too problematic. Henry didn’t want me to use magic, it was really important to him and I wanted so very much to give him want he wanted, what he needed, and I’ve failed so spectacularly.” 

“Well,” Red draws the word out as she hooks a finger under Regina’s chin and tilts her face up so that they are looking into one another’s eyes, “failure is an interesting way of describing saving both our lives but if that’s how you want to see it….”

“I don’t regret it,” Regina responds quickly, “there is no price too high to pay if it means saving you.”

“Your magic saved you too and you are very much worth saving,” she stresses because she’s not entirely sure that Regina knows that right at this moment.

“I am okay with what I did and I guess I’m even okay with the fact that Snow is still alive,” Regina says with no small amount of reluctance.

“That’s very big of you.”

Regina lets out a wry cackle and Red can feel both of their bodies relax in response. “It was probably an opportunity missed,” she laments.

“Maybe next time,” Red gives her a small grin.

One eyebrow is arched and Regina’s eyes sparkle with promise instead of just tears, “A girl can dream.”

“I don’t think Henry would approve,” Red reminds her.

“He’s a child,” Regina says dismissively.

“You weren’t thinking that a moment ago when you worrying yourself over how he’d feel about you using magic.”

“Don’t try to bring logic into this.”

“In future I’ll have to remember not to try to use any rational thinking when you are having an emotional crisis”

“You had better,” Regina warns but she runs an affectionate hand down Red’s arm before lacing fingers their fingers together. “I’m so worried that I won’t be able to fix things with Henry,” she admits.

“You didn’t see him today. His was frightened.”

“Of course he was, how could he not have been.”

“Yes, but he wasn’t just frightened for himself, he was frightened for you. He loves you.”

“Love isn’t everything.” Regina closes her eyes and Red suspects that she is trying to hold back a fresh flood of tears. “I loved my mother, I still do, but I don’t want anything like that for Henry and I and Red, he fears me sometimes, without meaning to I’ve turned into her.”

“You’re not her. Trust me. Henry is lucky to have you as a mother.”

“No one else seems to think so,” the statement is devoid of emotions and Red is more than aware that this is not an act of wallowing in self-pity, it’s an accurate assessment of how others see the situation.

“I didn’t realise it at the time but apparently The Enchanted Forrest has some pretty outdated and ununderstandable rules about what constitutes a family.”

“You’ve noticed that?”

“Of course I have and it makes no sense. We lived lives ravaged by war and famine and disease; compared with Fairy Tale Land, Storybrooke is like a dream. How are they holding so strongly to the notion of a family unit when they come from lives that meant you were unlikely to have one?”

Regina pauses as if to consider, “Maybe that’s exactly why they do it but I think that even if they didn’t they’d make an exception for me.”

“Well they shouldn’t and it’s bullshit and I told Snow as much.”

“You did? When?”

“Yeah,” this time it’s Red who pauses, worried that Regina may feel that she’s overstepped and meddled in areas where she doesn’t belong. Regina is complicated and it’s often hard to determine how she will react to things but Red has no doubt about how Regina feels about meddling. “It wasn’t all running from your mother in terror, sometimes we got to have some nice heart to hearts where we fought about your role in Henry’s life. In case it’s not clear, I was firm on the fact that it’s important that you have one.”

“Thank you,” Regina says earnestly.

“It’s the truth. You’re his mother Regina and you’re a good mother.” She watches as Regina ducks her head in embarrassment. “So,” she says and it is a reflection of the state of their lives that she is about to use this to try and lighten the mood, “when were you thinking of telling him about us?”

She can literally feel Regina gasp against her chest, “He already knows.”

“You told him?” Her surprise must be evident because Regina gives her a wane smile and rolls her eyes.

“Swan told him. There is a lot of her mother in that one.”

“I see. How did he take it?”

“Not so well. He ran off. It may not have been just that though, I told him I wanted to use magic to save you. It was a lot for him to take in.”

“I see and how did _you_ handle him finding out?”

Regina’s smile has become more genuine, it’s sheepish but it’s encouraging, “It’s not the way I would have wanted to tell him but I’m glad that he knows.”

“I’m glad too. We’ll just have to work on helping him accept it.”

“How did our relationship become the most mundane of my problems with my son?” Regina ask in wonder.

“I’ll try not to be offended here,” she says but she gives Regina’s fingers a small, supportive squeeze.

“You know I don’t mean it like that and it’s still very daunting. I’ve never introduced him to a romantic partner before. I‘ve never even considered it.”

“How many have there been?” her voice is rough and raw with jealously.

“Hey,” Regina places a quick but tender kiss to Red’s lips, “you know there has been no one. I told about you Graham. He’s all there was and he was nothing. There was no need to tell Henry anything about him.”

“And me?”

“You are definitely not nothing.”

“I’m worth telling Henry about?”

“Of course you are.”

“So then what’s the problem?”

“This is not how I would have wanted him to find out. I wanted to find a way to let him know how significant and important you are to me but that doesn’t mean he had to know all of the details.”

“Learning about your sex life is not going to scar him.”

“He is not going to learn about my sex life,” Regina cries in horror.

She stifles the smile that wants to erupt in response to the reaction she has caused in Regina, “Of course not but you know what I mean.”

“I’m worried that if he thinks that you and I have any sort of allegiance then he will just hate you by association.”

“I can see how this could be possible,” Red admits as she ponders the situation, “but lucky for you, you had the good sense to get involved with me and that can only help your standing.”

“You really think that knowing that I’m with you would make him like me more.”

“It couldn’t hurt. I happen to be irresistible.”

“I’ve noticed,” Regina’s voice has dropped and she moves their joined hands so that they are resting on Red’s hip. It seems she is about to pull Red closer but she suddenly stops dead. “Oh crap!” she exclaims.

“What’s wrong?” Red asks, genuinely thrown by the turn of events.

“I’ve just remembered something that means we may never have to sort out the situation with Henry?”

“What’s that?” she hopes she sounds curious and not the mix of hurt and anger that is now bubbling away inside of her.

“You Grandmother has threatened to kill me for touching you.”

“Has she now?” The bubbles of hurt and anger burst and mirth flows freely through her veins. 

“Oh quite clearly. To be precise, she told me she would put a crossbow bolt through my heart.”

Red giggles and Regina glares at her. “I’m sorry. I’m just trying to picture it.”

“It happened in this very bedroom if that helps.”

“Seriously?”

“Yes. She committed a home invasion and then threatened me with the crossbow that she was holding.”

“Wow. I have to say I’m surprised. I didn’t think she go quite so far.”

“I believe it was her way of spurring me into action and making sure you got home safely.”

“You weren’t already in action?” She delivers the words in jest but truth be told the thought that Regina wasn’t doing everything in her power to try and rescue her stings like a motherfucker.

“I was a little busy being paralysed by losing you, I couldn’t do anything, I couldn’t even get out of bed. I let Emma take Henry without any attempt to object.” She forgives Regina instantly. 

“So the thought of being shot in the heart was quite motivating then?”

“I guess it was but your grandmother also help me get back control of my magic.”

“What? How?”

“She made some sort of ill-advised deal with Gold.”

“Regina,” Red’s voice quavers with both fear and reproach.

“I know. I know.” Regina assures her sincerely. “It’s on my list of things I need to do - repair things with Henry, help him find a way to accept our relationship, convince your grandmother not to put a bolt through my heart, and make sure that she doesn’t face repercussions for helping me save you.”

“It sounds like you’ll be busy.”

“I’m tired just thinking about it,” Regina punctuates her statement with a timely yawn.

“You don’t have to deal with it alone.”

“I’m glad.” 

Regina’s eyelids keep dropping closed and Red wonders whether it’s time to consider making her exit. “Do you want me to go?” she asks.

“I’d prefer that you stay,” through the fatigue she can hear the insecurity in Regina’s request, a reminder of their past, of the times that Regina couldn’t get Red to stay with her.

“I’m glad you want me here,” she tells Regina with a gentle kiss to the top of her head, “because I wasn’t planning on leaving,” and if Red has her way, she never will.


End file.
